Drumming (snipe)

Common snipe (Gallinago gallinago) shown drumming

Drumming (also called bleating or winnowing) is a sound produced by snipe as part of their courtship display flights.[1] The sound is produced mechanically (rather than vocally) by the vibration of the outer tail feathers when flying in a downwards, swooping motion. The drumming display is usually crepuscular, though it can also be heard at any point throughout the breeding season, as well as sporadically during their migration period.[2] Drumming is commonly heard within the context of a mating display, but it can also be displayed as means of distraction when conspecific intruders or potential predators are in the area — this can benefit male snipe in attracting a female mate.[3] The weather can also have an impact on the acoustic properties of drumming — more humid weather will not allow the sound to carry as far and will create a deeper tone.[2]

In looking at drumming in the different types of snipe, the category of what is often referred to as true snipe (Capella gallinago) is the most widely researched. This category of snipe comprises nine species, however, the two snipe that are the most prominent of this group are the common snipe (Gallinago gallinago) and the Wilson's snipe (Gallinago delicata). Despite being quite similar in their appearance, the common snipe and the Wilson's snipe have several morphological differences that allow for there to be differences in their drumming behaviour. The most noted difference being that the Wilson's snipe has more rectrices compared to the common snipe.

When the discovery was made that this mysterious drumming sound was produced by snipe, there were many naturalists that wanted to learn how the sound was actually being produced — this led to a number of experimental studies. The first of many was conducted in the year 1830 by a German scientist Johann Friedrich Naumann who proposed that the sound was being produced by the wings.[2][4] A few years later after reading Naumann's proposal, the scientist Friedrich Wilhelm Meves conducted studies that looked in-depth at the tail-feathers of snipe. It was eventually confirmed through Meve's experiments that the drumming sound was produced by the tail-feathers.[2][5]

Before the confirmed discovery of the drumming behaviour in snipe, there were many theories and folklore surrounding where the sound was actually coming from. The Nunamiut people of Alaska believed that the drumming of the Wilson's snipe resembled the sound of a walrus, and therefore they referred to the snipe as avikiak for walrus.[2] Another example can be seen in the popular belief of some parts of Sweden where they thought the sound was from a horse that had been miraculously transported into the sky because they thought the sound was so similar to that of a horse's whinny.[6] Others from Northern Germany likened the drumming sound to that made from goats.[2]

  1. ^ Van Casteren, A, et al. “Sonation in the Male Common Snipe (Capella Gallinago Gallinago L.) Is Achieved by a Flag-like Fluttering of Their Tail Feathers and Consequent Vortex Shedding.” The Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 213, no. 9, 2010, pp. 1602–1608.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Tuck, Leslie M. (1972). The snipes : a study of the Genus Capella. Environnement Canada. OCLC 300101140.
  3. ^ Mueller, Helmut (1999). Poole, A.; Gill, F. (eds.). "Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago)". The Birds of North America Online. doi:10.2173/bna.417. ISSN 1061-5466.
  4. ^ Naumann, Johann Friedrich. 1820-1847. Naturgeschichte der Vögel Deutschlands. E. Fleischer, Leipzig.
  5. ^ Wolley, John (1858). "On the Snipes'"neighing" or Humming Noise, and on Its Tail-Feathers' Systematic Value. by W. Meves, Conservator at the Zoological Riks-Museum in Stockholm. Translated and Communicated". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 26 (1): 199–202. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1858.tb06364.x. ISSN 1469-7998.
  6. ^ Lloyd, Llewellyn (1867). The game birds and wild fowl of Sweden and Norway; with an account of the seals and salt-water fishes of those countries. London: Frederick Warne and Co. OCLC 186544271.